Sustainable real estate
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By increasing the supply of student housing, we’re freeing up rental units for other types of households. Most of all, we’re paving the way for similar solutions for other segments of the population and it shows that we can create large-scale sustainable and affordable real estate."
— Laurent, UTILE, a Fonds immobilier de solidarité FTQ's partner
Why it’s important to us
The real estate sector is facing some major challenges that have a serious impact on the environment and Quebecers’ quality of life: a housing shortage, a challenging economy, greenhouse gas emissions and limited resources.
There’s a growing sense of urgency to think differently about real estate so all Québec communities can continue to benefit from accessible, affordable housing.
1.3%
The rate of available rental units for all centres in Québec with 10,000 or more inhabitants fell yet again — from 1.7% to 1.3%. That’s the lowest it’s been since 2010.* A vacancy rate of 3% is considered to be rental market equilibrium.[1]
Our approach
We’re building great things with your savings. More than ever, the Fonds immobilier de solidarité FTQ is stepping up its investments in sustainable real estate with economically, environmentally and socially responsible projects in an effort to ease the housing crisis today while building better living environments for tomorrow.
Here’s what we’ve done so far this year:
Established partnerships to help develop social and affordable housing projects
To do great things, you need to be surrounded by good people, and the Fonds immobilier has an extensive network of solid partners. Together, we've developed social and affordable housing projects across Québec to provide vulnerable populations with living environments that meet their specific needs.
We helped increase the number of social, community and affordable housing units.
4,632
social, community and affordable housing units developed, built, delivered or preserved in 75 different projects.[4]
560
residential units under development or construction in 7 social and community projects, as part of an agreement between the Québec government and the Fonds de solidarité FTQ under which the Fonds immobilier and its partners will build 2,250 social and affordable housing units by 2027.[4]
UTILE: rethinking the future of affordable student housing
Montréal
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At UTILE, we want to develop a socio-economic infrastructure for Québec. We’re building student housing across the province to sustainably address various societal issues. Who better to partner with than the Fonds, which is already a social infrastructure for Québec?"
— Laurent Levesque
President and CEO
UTILE
A new approach to real estate development
While Laurent Levesque was studying towards his bachelor’s in urban planning, he never thought he’d become a real estate developer. But as he was finishing his degree, he started thinking about Québec’s student housing shortage. That’s when he co-founded UTILE with some university colleagues, including Gabriel Fournier Filion, who’s now UTILE’s CEO. Driven by their desire to make a tangible impact on society, the collective gave itself a mission: to offer Québec’s entire student population an affordable, structured and sustainable housing solution. They were going to do real estate development differently.
Our first question was how to get financing. To turn such an ambitious project into a reality, we needed the support of major investors. And that’s where the Fonds, through the Fonds immobilier de solidarité FTQ, entered the picture.
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Finding financing when you don’t have any experience is a real challenge. Fortunately, the Fonds got on board from the very start. It was one of the first to have faith in a group of young people who hadn’t yet proven themselves, but who had the potential to make a real contribution to society."
Investing in a promising model
In concrete terms, the Fonds immobilier’s support allowed UTILE to launch its first project in Montréal: a building with 144 rooms in 90 semi- furnished apartments rented year- round. Not just residences, but real homes and living environments where students could enjoy the conditions they needed to flourish.
Better still, the Fonds invested in UTILE’s vision of a model that could be replicated across Québec.
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For us, the Fonds is a strategic partner because it can play a pivotal role in projects like ours. Its history, expertise and understanding of the ecosystem, as well as its stability and predictability, allowed us to chart a course for the future."
Tackling the housing crisis, one student dwelling at a time
Today, l’UTILE has two buildings in Montréal, one in Québec City and another in Trois-Rivières. In all, it has 600 homes and over 750 tenants. But the social economy enterprise has no intention of stopping there: it’s committed to housing 3,000 students by 2028. Then it hopes to gradually roll out its model in student towns across Québec where there’s a need, starting in Sherbrooke and Rimouski.
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We want to give as many students as possible the space they need to fulfill their potential. And that means having access to affordable housing."
What’s more, by taking its model to all the regions of Québec, UTILE is taking pressure off the housing market and making a real difference in the crisis.
"
By increasing the supply of student housing, we’re freeing up rental units for other types of households. And most importantly, we’re paving the way for similar solutions for other segments of the population by showing that you can create affordable and sustainable housing on a large scale."
Increasing the supply of housing throughout Québec
Across Québec, people are struggling to find a decent place to live. To ease the effects of the housing crisis, we’re investing in sustainable real estate projects so thousands of local workers, young adults, seniors and families can find a home where they can flourish for years to come.
Groupe Evoludev: Building more housing
Groupe Evoludev wanted to do its part to ease the housing crisis so it embarked on a sustainable real estate project involving 117 rental units, including affordable housing, in an area that needed revitalizing. See how the company and the Fonds immobilier got this ambitious project off the ground in Montréal’s East End.
Your savings allow us to help Quebecers find housing, from Montréal to Lotbinière to Joliette.
To reflect Québec's population distribution, the Fonds is active in several regions:[5]
Our real estate investments have really paid off.
This is what we've managed to build with our partners—and your savings:
Helping to transform the real estate market through sustainable development
The real estate market needs to reinvent itself to address environmental challenges, and we’re here to drive that transformation. More than ever, we’re pursuing initiatives to reduce GHG emissions, such as using sustainable materials, adopting energy efficiency measures, implementing systems to reduce drinking water waste and introducing composting systems. These initiatives help us all flourish.
We launched the Écoparc Châteauguay 30 project
Along with our partners MONTONI and Montez Corporation, we created an impressive industrial ecopark with 170 solar panels on the roof. The building is aiming for LEED Gold and BCZ-Design certification, the highest sustainability standards in the industry.
These measures will translate into:
50%
50% reduction in energy costs
60%
Over 60% reduction in GHG emissions compared to a conventional industrial building
50%
50% less water consumption
Our Major Achievements in Sustainable Development
Over the years, we have invested in sustainable real estate in several ways, but always with the same goal in mind: helping Quebecers access affordable and decent housing. Here are our accomplishments.[4]
A sustainable playground
Projects in development or construction
Combined value of $5.7 billion, of which $1 billion were invested by the Fonds immobilier
Portfolio properties under management
Comprising 5,096 residential rental units and 3.5 million square feet of commercial, industrial, office and social infrastructure space
Property management
Industrial land
Social and affordable housing projects
Comprising 8,423 permanently affordable units and 322,556 square feet of rental space for community use, representing investments of $344 million to date
